Getting close

[thebionicman]

I think I am getting closer to laying out full Euro Carves. After I saw these picture I left my trailing arm behind me on healsides, I found that my turns were much more laid out.

I think next season I will have to get a 168H. This is on a Coiler 173 VSR.
Any comments on to improving my technique are appreciated.

[yomama]

Bonicman,

Looking good.
I recognized myself in those pix and I was young, fearless and not even close to handsome .

You are correct to point out you are close to EC.
Rotation heelside is well done and as a proof, you have the two hands on the snow.

Few (intend is contrustive ) comments:
1) What is striking are the lifts that are incorporated for boots/board connection and this is not what EC founders recommend.
2) Toeside, rotate a little bit more throughout the turn
3) You do not do the Egyptian to transition from toe to heelside, instead you are looking straight downhill (Egyptian transition will come with mileage).
4) If you can, keep upper body straight (vs. crouched) during transition
5) Right now, you are perfecting angulation/inclination/rotation which is an excellent technique to the next step: dynamic push pull.

Hope this makes sense and thanks for sharing the pictures.

Yomama

ps: are those suede gloves with nice warm lama wool inside?

[luomu]

Hi!

* Check Ben's instructional videos, found here
* For the heelside, get down (on 'back seat') when initiating the turn, in the picture you have legs stretched (eg. you are standing up when you should be down on the board tail). Then continue rotating and pushing up towards the turn (again the best examples can be found on Ben's video).
* For both sides, in my opinion the hips are not turning enough to the turn, even if the shoulder line is. On frontside you actually seem to have some counter rotation on shoulder line..

[thebionicman]

Thank you for the responses. Those make a lot of sense. I have watched Ben's video many times, I just have a hard time committing to getting into the backseat.
I never thought about the counter rotation on the toe side, but as I go through the turns in my head I am indeed counter rotated.

@yomama those are just good old cow leather mits, no liner. I actually wear my old snowboard mits on the inside of them. They wear pretty well, I usually have to get a new set once a season for $12.

[vizsyn]

Hi!

From what I can see you are getting very close to breaking through to full EC, you are much closer to the promised land than myself

Your heelside/backside carves, while not full EC yet, are definitely very strong and solid, with the board tilted high on edge, driving deeply into the piste. I have been studying your heelside pictures in particular to learn more about body positioning, inclination and angulation. At this moment my heelside carves are my weakness , I haven't mastered setting the edge properly and trusting that the edge will hold. While I can get the board to carve, they are often not perfect cuts, and definitely lack power.

[yomama]

To avoid the toeside counter rotation, start looking uphill (aslo helps for safety) when the board points downhill, and keep looking uphill throughout and ONLY look downhill when you start changing the edge to the heelside.

[thebionicman]

To avoid the toeside counter rotation, start looking uphill (aslo helps for safety) when the board points downhill, and keep looking uphill throughout and ONLY look downhill when you start changing the edge to the heelside.

That is a really simple thing to do and it makes a lot of sense. I will do that this weekend. Healside I have been able to correct just on keeping my trailing hand on my hip.

Thank you all for the responses!!